Part 51 (2/2)

”I think so.'”

”What do you mean, you think so?”

”Graham was standing between us. I might have married him. No, I'm certain it was Iain. He kissed me after... Graham didn't.”

Frances Catherine didn't know what to make of this news. She was thrilled, of course, because her friend would never have to go back to England, but she was also furious. Her mind concentrated on that emotion first.

”Why was it rushed? There weren't any flowers, were there? You couldn't have been married in a chapel. We don't have one. d.a.m.n it, Judith, you should have insisted Iain do it right.”

”I don't know why it was so rushed,” Judith admitted. ”But Iain surely had his reasons. Please don't get upset about this.”

”I should have been there,” Frances Catherine wailed.

”Aye, you should have,” Judith agreed.

Another minute pa.s.sed in silence before Frances Catherine spoke again. ”Are we happy about this marriage?”

Judith lifted her shoulders in a shrug. ”I suppose we are.”

Tears filled Frances Catherine's eyes. ”You deserved to have your dream come true.”

Judith knew what her friend was talking about, of course. She shook her head and tried to comfort Frances Catherine. ”Dreams are for little girls to whisper to each other. They don't really come true. I'm a fully grown woman now, Frances Catherine. I don't imagine impossible things.”

Her friend wasn't ready to let it go. ”You're forgetting who you're talking to, Judith. I know you better than anyone else in this whole world. I know all about your horrible life with your witch of a mother and your drunken uncle. I know about the pain and the loneliness. Your dreams became your s.h.i.+elds against the hurt. You can tell me it was just your active imagination, these dreams you now pretend aren't still important, but I know better.”

Her voice cracked on a sob. She took a deep breath and then continued on. ”Your dreams saved you from despair. Don't you dare pretend they don't matter. I won't believe you.”

”Frances Catherine, please be reasonable about this,” Judith said in exasperation. ”It wasn't always horrible. Millicent and Herbert balanced my life. Besides, I was very young when I thought up such silly dreams. I was only imagining what I wanted my wedding to be like. My father was there, remember? I thought the man was dead, but I still imagined him standing by my side at the back of the chapel. My husband was going to be so happy, he was going to cry. Now I ask you. Can you imagine Iain weeping over the sight of me?”

Frances Catherine couldn't help but smile. ”My husband was also going to weep with grat.i.tude. Patrick didn't. He gloated.”

”I won't ever have to see my mother again.”

She'd whispered that thought aloud. Frances Catherine nodded. ”You won't ever have to leave me, either.”

”I want you to be happy about this.”

”All right. I'm happy. Now tell me exactly what happened. I want every detail.”

Judith did as she was asked. By the time she was finished with the recounting, Frances Catherine was laughing. Judith was having difficulty remembering, and she kept excusing her poor memory on the fact that it had all been terribly confusing.

”I asked Iain if he loved me,” she told her friend. ”He didn't give me an answer. I didn't realize that until it was over and he was kissing me. He said he wanted me. I also tried to tell him about my father, but he wouldn't let me get the words out. He said it didn't matter. I was to let it alone. Those were his very words. I did try, but I'm thinking I should have tried harder.”

Frances Catherine let out an unladylike snort. ”Don't you start worrying about your father. We aren't ever going to mention him again. No one's going to know.”

Judith nodded. ”I made Iain promise me two things. Millicent and Herbert can come here for a visit.”

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